The Forest’s Secret

Deep within this forest,

Past all the hanging branches,

Through all swirling mist,

A secret hides within the life.

Underneath the gnarled roots

Of a noble oak tree,

That towers above its kin,

One burned and scorned is buried.

A witch, shunned,

cast out by those watched her age,

Thrown to the wilderness

Solely on the basis of fear.

Betrayed she ran,

She hid, she cried,

Pale eyes that fed the forest,

Caused it to thrive in her sorrow.

Surrounded by the fruits of her sorrow,

She helplessly watched it flourish,

A constant reminder of the pain she endured,

Of her unjustified suffering.

Alone she passed her days,

Running in a land she created,

Never stopping for fear of the past

Catching her and overtaking her.

Now years have passed,

And to many she was unknown,

But to one she was a mother,

The body that birthed them.

And now the witch has faded,

Simply a regret of those who persecuted her,

A memory with a pang of sorrow,

That triggers a sense of empathy.

And then, the witch,

When she fell upon the ground,

And sighed away her last breath,

The foreset made her a promise.

Never would she be forgotten.

So as her life dissipated,

In its arms the forest took her,

In a permanent embrace.

Now a wanderer may find the witch,

Embedded in the heart of the forest,

A murmured presence made known to travelers,

The forest’s sacred promise.